JONAH should break out its checkbook, divvy up every last cent in their bank accounts and whatever their insurers are willing to cough up among the current claimants and anyone else who might have a claim in such a lawsuit, quietly close its doors and go away. The allegations in the article are not going to play well for them.

I almost got roped into ne of those "conversion therapy" things once, but luckily I escaped ! They wanted to convert me into a DEMOCRAT !GAAAKKKK !!!!!

Don't make light of a serious problem. Thank God that you WEREN'T shoved into one of those torture camps. Kids have committed suicide after being forced into this terrible program when it did NOTHING but take untold thousands of dollars.

<quoted text>The only way you could possibly know without a doubt that you can pray away the gay, is by personal experience. Are you admitting here that you actually succeeded in "praying away the gay"?

You don't have to touch a 440 volt AC wire to believe in electricity. But Ralph, why don't you try it anyway?

Ironically, much of the research showing orientation is not a choice, comes from efforts to change it. Not only have such efforts shown efforts to change orientation are not successful, but that they are often harmful to the point of self destructive behavior including suicide.

"Contrary to claims of sexual orientation change advocates and practitioners, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation," said Judith M. Glassgold, PsyD, chair of the task force. "Scientifically rigorous older studies in this area found that sexual orientation was unlikely to change due to efforts designed for this purpose. Contrary to the claims of SOCE practitioners and advocates, recent research studies do not provide evidence of sexual orientation change as the research methods are inadequate to determine the effectiveness of these interventions." Glassgold added: "At most, certain studies suggested that some individuals learned how to ignore or not act on their homosexual attractions. Yet, these studies did not indicate for whom this was possible, how long it lasted or its long-term mental health effects. Also, this result was much less likely to be true for people who started out only attracted to people of the same sex."

Based on this review, the task force recommended that mental health professionals avoid misrepresenting the efficacy of sexual orientation change efforts when providing assistance to people distressed about their own or others' sexual orientation.

"The idea that homosexuality is a mental disorder or that the emergence of same-sex attraction and orientation among some adolescents is in any way abnormal or mentally unhealthy has no support among any mainstream health and mental health professional organizations.

Despite the general consensus of major medical, health, and mental health professions that both heterosexuality and homosexuality are normal expressions of human sexuality, efforts to change sexual orientation through therapy have been adopted by some political and religious organizations and aggressively promoted to the public. However, such efforts have serious potential to harm young people because they present the view that the sexual orientation of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth is a mental illness or disorder, and they often frame the inability to change ones sexual orientation as a personal and moral failure.

Because of the aggressive promotion of efforts to change sexual orientation through therapy, a number of medical, health, and mental health professional organizations have issued public statements about the dangers of this approach. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Counseling Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American School Counselor Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the National Association of Social Workers, together representing more than 480,000 mental health professionals, have all taken the position that homosexuality is not a mental disorder and thus is not something that needs to or can be cured.

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises youth that counseling may be helpful for you if you feel confused about your sexual identity. Avoid any treatments that claim to be able to change a persons sexual orientation, or treatment ideas that see homosexuality as a sickness."

Evidence exists both through clinical studies as well as through the personal testimony of millions of gay and straight people around the world who will testify they have no choice over to whom they are emotionally, romantically, and physically attracted.

Bisexual people sometimes confuse the issue as it takes some of them a long time to realize that while they experience attractions to some members of both sexes, they have no choice over being attracted. Like gay and straight people, they only have a choice of whether to act on their attractions.

<quoted text>That's what I thought. You can't prove it works. So there is no reason anyone should try to "pray away the gay". You're a fraud, just as those "therapists" are.And why don't I try it? Why should I? I am happy, successful, and married to a wonderful man for almost 40 years. Only unhappy people try to change their lives. That ain't me.

What? You aren't willing to live a live of self loathing just to please those who cling to irrational prejudice?

"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live; it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. And unselfishness is letting other people's lives alone, not interfering with them. Selfishness always aims at uniformity of type. Unselfishness recognizes infinite variety of type as a delightful thing, accepts it, acquiesces in it, enjoys it." Oscar Wilde

Evidence exists both through clinical studies as well as through the personal testimony of millions of gay and straight people around the world who will testify they have no choice over to whom they are emotionally, romantically, and physically attracted.Bisexual people sometimes confuse the issue as it takes some of them a long time to realize that while they experience attractions to some members of both sexes, they have no choice over being attracted. Like gay and straight people, they only have a choice of whether to act on their attractions.

<quoted text>What? You aren't willing to live a live of self loathing just to please those who cling to irrational prejudice?"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live; it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. And unselfishness is letting other people's lives alone, not interfering with them. Selfishness always aims at uniformity of type. Unselfishness recognizes infinite variety of type as a delightful thing, accepts it, acquiesces in it, enjoys it." Oscar Wilde

Yeah, I know. It's really selfish of me to live my life happily. I would say I do it just to spite them, but that wouldn't be true. Know why? Because they just don't matter to me. And that's a great quote you cited.

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